Department for Transport

Railways: Southport

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve rail services (a) on the Southport to Manchester line and (b) to and from the West Lancashire constituency; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of recent national timetable changes on commuter services in those areas.

Joseph Johnson: The Department and Transport for the North each expressed concerns over the rate of recovery of performance and in particular the readiness of the industry for service re-introduction. This has led to the creation of a working group with representatives from Northern, TransPennine Express and Network Rail. That group is charged with identifying any initiatives that might assist with performance recovery and identifying any underlying structural weaknesses in the timetables in operation.

Bicycles: Hire Services

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the growth and development of the bikeshare sector.

Jesse Norman: The Government agrees that bike-share schemes have the potential to deliver many benefits, provided they are introduced and managed responsibly. It is for local authorities rather than central Government to determine whether, and if so how, to promote bike-share schemes in their areas. The Government’s overall plans to increase cycling and walking, together with a summary of the available funding, are set out in the statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy published in April 2017.

Bicycles: Hire Services

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 22 November 2017 to Question 112924 on Bicycles: Hire Services, what progress he has made on developing a consistent national standard for bike-share schemes.

Jesse Norman: Department for Transport officials have met representatives of bike-share companies operating in the UK, as well as local authority representatives where they are trading. The Department also held a workshop in January 2018 where national standards were discussed. The Department is not currently developing a national standard, pending investigation into the use of existing powers and byelaws. Officials are liaising with Transport for London colleagues to investigate the potential for bye-laws to be used as a tool for local authorities to develop consistent bike-sharing standards.

Bicycles: Hire Services

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the quality of service provided by bikeshare operators.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport has not undertaken any detailed assessment of the quality of service provided by bike-share operators. It is for local authorities rather than central Government to assess the quality of services being provided by operators in their areas.

Ports: EU Law

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans in place to repeal the provisions of EU regulation 2017/352 on port services once the UK leaves the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: We recognise that the port services Regulation, which will come into effect on 24 March 2019, places additional burdens on industry. The future applicability of retained EU legislation in general is within the scope of negotiations.

Public Transport: CCTV

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals for the mandatory 30-day retention of CCTV footage from train and bus services.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Transport refers transport operators to the Information Commissioner’s Office code of practice on matters of CCTV surveillance. This code includes guidance on data retention. It does not prescribe any specific minimum or maximum retention period, but rather states that retention should reflect the organisation’s purposes for recording the information and how long it is needed to achieve this purpose. The guidance also notes that the data should not be kept for longer than is necessary, and should be the shortest period necessary to the organisation’s purpose. The Rail Delivery Group guidance to industry on CCTV recommends that data should be retained for 31 days, as requested by British Transport Police. DfT’s bus and coach security guidance also recommends a 31 day retention period. The Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s office is responsible for providing advice on the effective, appropriate, proportionate and transparent use of surveillance camera systems.

Boating: Accidents

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department holds information on marine incidents involving alcohol and recreational boaters; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Transport does not hold any information which is not already in the public domain on marine incidents involving alcohol and recreational boaters. The Department does record data relating to the number of incidents involving a fatality where alcohol was believed to be a factor.

Bus Services: Licensing

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coach companies have had their operating licences revoked in the last five years.

Jesse Norman: The data held by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner does not differentiate between operators of coaches, buses or minibuses in Great Britain as all of the vehicles are regarded as Public Service Vehicles (PSV), which are generally vehicles that have nine or more passenger seats.The figures in the table below show the number of PSV licences revoked at a public enquiry. There are licences that have been revoked outside of a public enquiry, but these numbers cannot be provided due to disproportionate costs. YearNo. of PSV licences revoked at a public enquiry2017 - 18862016 - 17782015 - 16752014 - 15972013 - 1475

Railways: Timetables

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Network Rail’s train planning resources for implementing the December 2018 timetable changes.

Joseph Johnson: At the Department’s request, Andrew Haines (Network Rail CEO) led industry in reviewing plans for the December 2018 timetable in light of the disruption seen in May 18, ensuring that the plans could be introduced smoothly for passengers. Part of this process included consideration of the Network Rail planning capability needed within a wider assessment of risks and deliverability. Network Rail continues to work with operators to deliver the agreed plan on time.

Railways: Pensions

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to the valuation of the railway pension scheme on the viability of (a) train operating company finances and (b) the wider rail franchising model.

Joseph Johnson: The Train Operating Companies (TOC) sections of the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) are private pensions provided by the relevant employer TOCs and managed by the RPS Trustee Board. As such the Department has no direct involvement in this process. The Department does monitor the RPS valuations in terms of franchising and the wider value for money implications.

Bridges: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the press release entitled Number of substandard bridges rises, published by the RAC Foundation on 19 January 2018, if he will make an assessment of the implication for his policies of the statement in that release that 3,441 road bridges with spans of more than 1.5 metres are substandard.

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the structural integrity of post-tensioned concrete bridges built before 1992; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The management and maintenance of bridges maintainable at public expense fall under the responsibility of each highway authority as set out in the Highways Act 1980 (as amended). The Department for Transport endorses Well Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice produced by the UK Roads Liaison Group which provides advice and guidance to highway authorities on maintaining their highways, including bridges. This includes advice on investigations and inspections. Both Highways England and local highway authorities inspection regimes covers all structures, including post tensioned bridges built pre 1992, and takes into account their design, age and likely maintenance needs. Furthermore, Highways England continues to develop detailed design standards and quality control processes to ensure bridges are designed and constructed to provide safe and comfortable journeys for road users.  The Department for Transport has also introduced a bridge inspector certification scheme. Further details can be found here: https://www.lantra.co.uk/nhss/bridge-inspectors

Electric Vehicles

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to undertake a review of the regulations on the use of electric scooters on roads.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport is currently gathering evidence on the development of new approaches to mobility, such as electric scooters, as part of the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge. This evidence will inform how the Department defines the scope of the regulatory review announced in the Industrial Strategy.

Shipping: Polar Regions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will seek a change through the International Maritime Organisation to ban ships from using heavy fuel oil when travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is supportive of the ongoing work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to address the risks associated with Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) in Polar Waters. The use and carriage of HFO by ships in the Antarctic region is prohibited and the UK has been an active participant in the current international effort to identify appropriate control measures, including a possible ban, for the Arctic region. The Government is in favour of proportionate, risk based controls, noting the vulnerability of the Arctic, and if the IMO work indicates a ban is necessary to mitigate the risk we will support such a step.

Roads

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the responses to the public consultation, Proposals for the creation of a Major Road Network, published in December 2017.

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to include the A68 in the major roads network.

Jesse Norman: The Department is aiming to publish a response to the consultation shortly, with a view to releasing a network map and further details on the scheme selection process by the end of the year. It will then be for the relevant local authority, working with regional partners, to make the case for MRN funding for particular schemes.

Roads

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to change the criteria for road improvement funding.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport consulted on the formula for highways maintenance capital funding in 2015 and made a few changes to the funding methodology based on responses received. The funding allocated to each highway authority is based on each of the local assets that they are responsible for and is a fair and proportionate way of providing funding. The Department for Transport may consider a further review of the highways maintenance funding formula following the outcome of the next Spending Review. For the Major Road Network (MRN), the Department is aiming to publish a response to the consultation shortly, with a view to launching the network and further details on the scheme selection process by the end of the year. Once launched, it will be for the relevant local authority working with other regional partners, to make the case for MRN funding for particular schemes.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Wind Power: Costs

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the levelised cost of energy of new onshore wind projects.

Claire Perry: BEIS’s most recent assessment of electricity generation costs can be found in the generation costs report (2016)[1] which covers both renewable and non-renewable technologies. The following table gives the most recent levelised cost estimates for onshore wind in a range of commissioning years. Table 1: Levelised cost estimates for onshore wind projects commissioning in 2020, 2025 and 2030 (£/MWh, 2014 prices) 202020252030Onshore Wind >5MW UK636160 We are currently undertaking a review of our evidence on levelised costs of electricity generation. [1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/566567/BEIS_Electricity_Generation_Cost_Report.pdf

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management: Scotland

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Green Deal finance loans have been provided with a payback duration of (a) up to 15 years (b) 15 to 20 years and (c) greater than 20 years via the company HELMS in (i) Scotland and (ii) each parliamentary constituency in Scotland.

Claire Perry: The number of Green Deal Finance plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Limited are shown for Scotland and for each parliamentary constituency in Scotland. Due to disclosure issues we are unable to publish counts less than 5 so these cells are shown as 1-4 with * denoting the difference between the total and the 1-4 category as applicable. For Scotland as a whole, 212 plans had a planned payback period at the start of plan of up to 15 years, 5 plans 15 to 20 years and 2,837 with a payback of greater than 20 years. Given the limited number of plans with a 15 to 20 year payback these have been included in greater than 20 years in the constituency table below.  Table: Green Deal Finance plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Limited by payback period in Scotland  Up to 15 years20+ years[1]TotalAberdeen North000Aberdeen South000Airdrie and Shotts58287Angus000Argyll and Bute01010Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock1-4*90Banff and Buchan000Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk1-4*18Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross000Central Ayrshire15152167Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill6105111Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East12211223Dumfries and Galloway000Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale01-41-4Dundee East01-41-4Dundee West1-4*8Dunfermline and West Fife1-4*32East Dunbartonshire1-4*40East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow17216233East Lothian02121East Renfrewshire03232Edinburgh East01-41-4Edinburgh North and Leith01-41-4Edinburgh South01717Edinburgh South West01-41-4Edinburgh West1-4*18Na h-Eileanan an Iar000Falkirk1-4*70Glasgow Central066Glasgow East86674Glasgow North1-4*15Glasgow North East8116124Glasgow North West1-4*15Glasgow South1-4*19Glasgow South West72936Glenrothes1-4*56Gordon000Inverclyde58287Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey000Kilmarnock and Loudoun5157162Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath04040Lanark and Hamilton East53136Linlithgow and East Falkirk65157Livingston1-4*78Midlothian03333Moray000Motherwell and Wishaw56671North Ayrshire and Arran1-4*96North East Fife01-41-4Ochil and South Perthshire02020Orkney and Shetland000Paisley and Renfrewshire North47246293Paisley and Renfrewshire South117788Perth and North Perthshire1-4*31Ross, Skye and Lochaber000Rutherglen and Hamilton West19233252Stirling1-4*36West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine000West Dunbartonshire0140140Scotland2122,8423,054  [1] 5 measures included with payback periods of 15 to 20 years.

Director of Labour Market Enforcement

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, by what date the Government plans to respond to the recommendations in the 2018-19 strategy of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement.

Kelly Tolhurst: The government is carefully considering all 37 recommendations made by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement and we will respond in due course.

Conditions of Employment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, by what date the Government plans to publish the outcome of its consultation on Employment status.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is considering the responses to the consultations and will respond in due course. I am grateful to all those who have contributed.

New Businesses: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding was awarded to businesses in Nottinghamshire under the Government-backed start-up loans scheme; and how much of that money has been repaid to date.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Industrial Strategy aims to make the UK the best place in the world to start or grow a business. The Start Up Loans programme helps individuals access the necessary finance to start or grow a business in the UK. In addition to receiving a loan, applicants are offered free business support and access to a business mentor for 12 months after receiving funding, thereby enhancing their chances of success. Individuals can borrow between £500 and £25,000 and loan repayment periods are between one and five years. The Start Up Loans programme is managed by the Start Up Loans Company, a subsidiary of the British Business Bank. At the end of July 2018 the Start Up Loans programme had lent £436m to over 57,000 entrepreneurs. Since the inception of the programme in 2012, 808 loans have been distributed in Nottinghamshire at a value of £5.4m with repayments of £2.2m to date.

Small Businesses: Billing

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the proportion of late payments to SMEs.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government understands how important tackling late payment is, especially for smaller businesses. In due course, the Department will be publishing a call for evidence to understand the current trends and evidence on how late payments are affecting SMEs and to seek views on how the Government could go further to tackle the problem.

Self-employed

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the number of self-employed individuals.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy relies on published labour market statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which are available here:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/previousReleases

Unfair Dismissal: Job Security

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has he made of the effect of increasing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims to two years on job security.

Kelly Tolhurst: In line with good practice, the Government carried out an Equality Impact Assessment before taking the decision to extend the qualifying period for unfair dismissal to two years. This assessment was published and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31436/11-512-resolving-workplace-disputes-impact-assessment.pdf

Unfair Dismissal: Equality

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what equality impact assessment the Government has made since the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims was increased to two years.

Kelly Tolhurst: In line with good practice, the Government carried out an Equality Impact Assessment before taking the decision to extend the qualifying period for unfair dismissal to two years. This assessment was published and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31436/11-512-resolving-workplace-disputes-impact-assessment.pdf

Employment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices, published in July 2017, what steps he has taken to increase the availability of good work as outlined in that review.

Kelly Tolhurst: Statistics released on 11 September show that the labour market continues to perform strongly. The employment rate is at a near-record high and the unemployment rate has not been lower since 1975. Average real-terms weekly earnings excluding bonuses increased by 0.5% over the year. The Government response to the Taylor Report, published in February, set out the steps which the Government is taking to deliver its ambition that all work in the UK economy should be fair and decent with realistic scope for development and fulfilment.

Employment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices, published in July 2017, if he will make an estimate of the number of jobs which are classified as good work as outlined in that review.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government response to the Taylor Report, published in February, said that “Over the coming months we will open up a dialogue with business, unions and other experts to discuss which measures best evaluate these principles. This timescale aligns with the work currently being undertaken by the Carnegie Trust in identifying measures to evaluate the quality of work. Following these discussions we will publish, by autumn 2018, a final list of measures outlining our baseline assessment of the quality of work currently in the UK economy.” The Carnegie Trust’s report was published on 7 September. We welcome it as a valuable input to this process.

Employment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 13 the Government's response to the Taylor review of modern working practices, published in February 2018, when the Government plans to publish the annual report on good work.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government response to the Taylor Report, published in February, said that “Over the coming months we will open up a dialogue with business, unions and other experts to discuss which measures best evaluate these principles. This timescale aligns with the work currently being undertaken by the Carnegie Trust in identifying measures to evaluate the quality of work. Following these discussions we will publish, by autumn 2018, a final list of measures outlining our baseline assessment of the quality of work currently in the UK economy.” The Carnegie Trust’s report was published on 7 September. We welcome it as a valuable input to this process.

Agency Workers: Conditions of Employment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 15 of the Government response to the Taylor review of modern working practices, published in February 2018, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to improve transparency for agency workers.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is considering responses to the consultations and will respond in due course. I am grateful to those who have contributed.

Agency Workers: Conditions of Employment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent representations he has received on ending the Swedish derogation.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government consulted on Pay Between Assignments, also known as Swedish Derogation contracts, earlier this year as part of the implementation of the Matthew Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. We received 99 responses to the Agency Workers consultation, which included Pay Between Assignments, and these are being carefully considered. We will respond in due course.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement on extending the scope and remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.

Kelly Tolhurst: Ministers from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have conversations with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement on all aspects of labour market enforcement including the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. In response to the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, the Government has already committed to extending the remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. The government consulted earlier this year on this issue and is considering fully the views expressed on how this extension of remit is achieved and will set out further information in due course.

Minimum Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Low Pay Commission on introducing a higher rate of minimum wage for hours not guaranteed as part of a contract.

Kelly Tolhurst: Earlier this year, in the Government’s response to the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, we accepted the review’s recommendation to ask the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to explore the impacts of introducing a higher National Minimum Wage rate for hours that are not guaranteed as part of a contract. Furthermore, we asked the LPC to provide advice on the impacts of alternative options for tackling the issue of one-sided flexibility. We await the LPC’s assessment of these options.

Internet

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of geo-blocking on (a) UK businesses and (b) digital subscribers and consumers in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Kelly Tolhurst: The EU Geo-Blocking Regulation will take effect in EU and UK law in December 2018. In the event of a “no deal” exit from the EU, and without specific action on the part of the Government, the Geo-Blocking Regulation would continue to exist on the UK statute book as “retained EU law”. The Government will release its plans for the Geo-Blocking Regulation in the event of a “no deal” exit from the EU in due course. Digital subscribers to ebooks, movies, video games and music sold electronically on sites elsewhere in the EU will not be affected by the Geo-Blocking Regulation, as it does not apply to wholly online services which are copyright protected.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

China: Political Prisoners

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received representations on the June 2016 resolution of the US Congress entitled Expressing concern regarding persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the People's Republic of China; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: We are aware of reports that suggest a process of involuntary organ removal may be taking place in China, including suggestions that minority and religious groups are being specifically targeted. The British government fully supports the Declaration of Istanbul (May 2008), which encourages all countries to draw up legal and professional frameworks to govern organ donation and transplantation activities.As the Minister for Europe and the Americas stated in a Westminster Hall debate on 11 October 2016: “Although I do not doubt the need to maintain close scrutiny of organ transplant practices in China, we believe that the evidence base is not sufficiently strong to substantiate claims about the systematic harvesting of organs from minority groups. Indeed, based on all the evidence available to us, we cannot conclude that this practice of “organ harvesting” is definitely happening in China.”

India: Floods

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) his Indian counterpart on the flooding in Kerala state.

Mark Field: ​It was heart-breaking to see reports of so much loss of life and so many made homeless by flooding across Kerala in August. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in India have been in touch with the Indian Government and Kerala State Government, and continue to closely follow events in the region. Consular officials helped 77 British Nationals in difficulty. The Prime Minister and Her Majesty the Queen wrote to the Indian Government to offer condolences.

Torture: Rendition

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the Government extended its deadline for announcing whether to launch an independent judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in torture and rendition.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government plans to announce whether to launch an independent judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in torture and rendition.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who will take the final decision on launching an independent judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in torture and rendition.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what factors the Government will take into account in its decision on whether to launch an independent judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in torture and rendition.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government is giving the necessary careful consideration to the need for an independent judge-led inquiry and will update the House after it returns in October.

Torture: Rendition

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with international counterparts on whether to launch an independent judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in torture and rendition.

Sir Alan Duncan: There have been no discussions on the issue of a further independent judge-led inquiry between FCO Ministers and their international counterparts.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2018 to Question 169500 on Electoral Register, whether the Government plans to collate the information from local Electoral Registration Officers at the local authority level to evaluate the potential effect of the legislative changes on the level of anonymous voter registration.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on Thursday 6 September 2019.

*No heading*

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will take steps to strengthen the enforcement of the Ministerial Code.

Mr David Lidington: Ministers are personally responsible for their conduct under the Ministerial Code. The Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of standards of behaviour expected of a Minister and the appropriate consequences of a breach of those standards.

Civil Service

Mr Paul Sweeney: What steps the Government is taking to review the effectiveness of the civil service.

Oliver Dowden: The Government is committed to continually strengthening the Civil Service. We use a range of internal and external work to inform our understanding of current effectiveness and to shape work to continue making improvements. Recent examples include the Barber Review, the PACAC Inquiry into Whitehall effectiveness, and the International Civil Service Effectiveness Index.

Government Departments: Technology

Dr Caroline Johnson: What estimate he has made of the proportion of public procurement spending on digital and technology services placed with small and medium-sized enterprises in each of the last three years.

Oliver Dowden: The Government’s Digital Marketplace has opened up opportunities for almost 5,000 small and medium businesses. In August, we announced that over £4 billion has been spent through the Marketplace since 2012, and almost half of that - £1.9 billion - has gone to smaller businesses. And between 2015-16 and 2017-18, spending with SMEs has almost doubled.

Electoral Register

Toby Perkins: What recent estimate he has made of the number of eligible voters not on the electoral register.

Chloe Smith: The register for the 2017 General Election, at 46.8 million, was the largest ever.While there are no recent reliable estimates of the number of people not on the electoral register, we know that Individual Electoral Registration has transformed the ease with which people can make an application to register.

Department of Health and Social Care

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 147821, on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what plans he has and what recent steps he has taken to expand this funding in the future.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) recognises that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is a debilitating condition and is speaking with the UK CFS/ME Research Collaborative and patient representatives about how best to support a joined up approach to high quality research into this complex disorder. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including CFS/ME; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

In Vitro Fertilisation

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money from the public purse has been spent commissioning IVF services in England in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This information is not collected centrally.

Drugs

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on patient access to short-shelf life medicines.

Steve Brine: The Government has made significant progress in negotiations with the European Union and remains confident the United Kingdom will leave with a good deal for both sides. This deal will include ensuring patients in the UK have access to appropriate, safe, and cost effective medicines, including short shelf-life medicines. However, as a responsible Government, we continue to prepare proportionately for all scenarios, including the unlikely outcome that we leave the EU without any deal in March 2019. Therefore on 23 August 2018, the Department wrote to a number of pharmaceutical companies that supply medicines for National Health Service patients from, or via, the EU/European Economic Area (EEA), asking them to ensure that they have a minimum of six weeks additional supply in the UK, over and above their business as usual operational buffer stocks by 29 March 2019. For certain medicines with short shelf lives, which cannot be reasonably stockpiled, we are specifically asking that where these products are imported to the UK from the EU/EEA via road haulage and roll-on, roll-off sea, road and rail routes, suppliers ensure in advance plans to air freight these medicines to the UK. This will ensure that UK patients have the same access to these medicines as they currently do in unlikely event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of rebates to be paid under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme 2014.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on how money raised from rebates paid under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme 2014 has been used; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons rebates paid by manufacturers under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme 2014 are not ring-fenced for the use of medicines; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Department has received £2,328 million from members of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), as of Q1 2018, in respect of PPRS payments made under the 2014 scheme. The estimated United Kingdom income from PPRS payments in 2018/19 is £470 million. Published aggregate information on sales reports and payments made under the scheme on a quarterly basis can be found on the Government’s website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pprs-quarterly-net-sales-and-payment-information The Department administers the scheme on behalf of all UK nations and PPRS payments that companies make under the scheme in respect of the UK are allocated to each of the four countries on an agreed basis each year. The Department ensures that all the income it receives from PPRS payments in England is reinvested in the National Health Service for patients’ benefit. The Department includes the expected PPRS payments in setting the NHS England allocations in advance of each year. NHS England is responsible for allocating the overall budget between clinical commissioning groups, specialised commissioning etc. Following normal Government accounting rules, there is no separately identified or ring-fenced funding stream associated with the PPRS payment. The Government is committed to improving access to clinically and cost-effective medicines including innovative new medicines and to optimise patient outcomes from these medicines.

Food: EU Law

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the White Paper, The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, whether he has plans to replicate the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 in the common rulebook.

Steve Brine: The content of the common rule book will form part of ongoing discussions between Her Majesty’s Government and the T50 taskforce, to ensure that the content of the common rule book account for a robust and safe food system between the United Kingdom and European Union. The rule book will only include those rules necessary to provide for frictionless trade at the border. The specific regulations which are considered for the rulebook will form a part of these ongoing discussions.

Breast Cancer

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the rate of (a) age-standardised premature mortality from breast cancer and (b) uptake of screening for that cancer was in each clinical commissioning group area in the last period for which figures are available.

Steve Brine: The Office for National Statistics has published data on the number of deaths and age-standardised mortality rates where breast cancer (ICD-10 code: C50) was the underlying cause of death, in those aged 0 to 74 years, by sex, England and Wales, 2012 to 2016 at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/adhocs/008966deathsandagestandardisedmortalityrateswherebreastcancerwastheunderlyingcauseaged0to74yearsbysexenglandandwales2012to2016 Data on the uptake of breast cancer screening are not available by clinical commissioning group level. Figures for uptake for screening during 2016/17 (screening year of 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017) are published by NHS Digital. The information for each area is provided at a breast screening service level is attached.



PQ170447 attached document
(Excel SpreadSheet, 38.69 KB)

Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the leadership at Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group.

Steve Brine: The most recent formal assessment of the effectiveness of the leadership at NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was as part of the 2017/18 CCG Improvement and Assessment Framework, the annual national assessment process for CCGs. In this assessment Wirral CCG received a headline rating of ‘Requires Improvement’. There are four categories: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. Within this, an annual assessment of the quality of leadership is made, and published on the MyNHS section of the NHS Choices website along with all the other indicators. The quality of leadership rating is on a scale from ‘Green Star’, ‘Green’, ‘Amber’ or ‘Red’. NHS Wirral CCG was rated as ‘Amber’ within this assessment for 2017/18. The link to the published ratings is available at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/Performance/Search

Mental Illness: Sleeping Rough

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of rough sleepers suffer with mental ill health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not centrally held. The Government recognises that having stable and appropriate housing can be invaluable for people living with a long-term mental health problem. We also know that rough sleeping can exacerbate existing, underlying mental health conditions and can result in a mental health crisis. The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and others to address issues around housing, homelessness and rough sleeping that affect people with mental health problems. The Government is committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and ending it by 2027, and the Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that the Rough Sleeping Strategy, which was published in August 2018, includes proper consideration of the needs of those with mental illness. As part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy, the Department of Health and Social Care has committed to provide up to £2 million in health funding in 2018/19, to test models of community-based provision designed to enable access to health and support services for people who are sleeping rough. This will include services to support people with both mental ill health and substance misuse issues.

Heroin

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to support the ageing profile of heroin users; and whether his Department has a written strategy to support ageing heroin users.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish a written strategy on tackling new psychoactive substances.

Steve Brine: The 2017 Drug Strategy sets out a comprehensive approach for local, national and international stakeholders to tackle the challenges illicit drugs place on society. The Strategy recognises the support needed for ageing heroin users and outlines a targeted approach for evolving and emerging threats such as those posed by the emergence of new psychoactive substances. There are no plans to develop separate individual written strategies on these issues.

Addictions and Mental Illness: Diagnosis

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote dual diagnosis for patients with both addiction and mental health problems.

Steve Brine: Commissioners and providers of services have a joint responsibility to work collaboratively to meet the needs of people with co-occurring conditions. Public Health England (PHE) has therefore developed guidance to support commissioning and provision of joined up services for people with a dual diagnosis of mental health and substance misuse problems. The guidance sets out principles for how services should work, including that each person should have access to a care co-ordinator to help ensure all their needs are addressed. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/people-with-co-occurring-conditions-commission-and-provide-services PHE continues to support the ‘no wrong door’ approach when people present to services with co-occurring conditions.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Misuse

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure equality of access to (a) alcohol and (b) drug treatments.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle dependence on (a) illicit drugs and (b) alcohol among people from deprived backgrounds; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of young people dependent on (a) illicit drugs and (b) alcohol.

Steve Brine: The Department and Public Health England (PHE) are working with other Government departments to help prevent young people, including those from deprived backgrounds, from developing alcohol and drug problems. This includes supporting investment in programmes which have a positive impact on young people, giving them the confidence, resilience and risk management skills to resist drug use. Examples of this include:- funding Mentor UK’s Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service which provides practical advice and tools based on the best international evidence, including briefing sheets for teachers; and- running Rise Above, an online resilience building resource, aimed at 11- to 16-year-olds, which provides resources to help young people develop skills to make positive choices for their health, including avoiding drug use.Local authorities are responsible for assessing their local need for alcohol and drug treatment and commissioning a range of accessible services to meet these needs.PHE works with local authorities to support them in this vital work, by providing them with data, guidance and other bespoke support to help them tackle health inequalities.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Steve Brine: The Government recognises that Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) can have a significant impact on the early years development of children, their behaviours and their life chances. Early intervention services can help reduce some of the effects of FASD and prevent some of the secondary disabilities that result. Responsibility for commissioning these services lies with clinical commissioning groups. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. The guideline for women who are pregnant or think they could become pregnant, is that the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to reduce risks to the baby to a minimum. The Department is organising an expert roundtable to examine the issues surrounding FASD. This meeting will be chaired by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

Suicide

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase the scope of local suicide prevention plans to include steps to tackle the links between alcohol misuse, deliberate self-harm and deaths by suicide.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The scope of local suicide prevention plans is determined by local authorities, working with multi-agency partners within their community. Public Health England issued guidance to local authorities in 2016 to support their suicide prevention planning which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-developing-a-local-action-plan The guidance advises that local suicide prevention plans should reflect the key areas for action ofthe Cross-Government National Suicide Prevention Strategy (2012), which highlights the importance of addressing issues which may increase the risk of suicide such as self-harm and alcohol misuse. The guidance suggests a number of priorities which local suicide prevention plans should address which includes reducing suicide risk in men (including alcohol misuse) and preventing and responding to self-harm. Public Health England also published guidance in 2017 to National Health Service and social care commissioners and providers on providing better care for people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol and drug use conditions which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/people-with-co-occurring-conditions-commission-and-provide-services The guidance sets out that local suicide prevention plans should address alcohol and drug misuse.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Misuse

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of deaths arising from alcohol and drug dependency.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) is working with local authorities, the National Health Service and prevention and treatment providers to support their work in reducing the number of deaths arising from alcohol and drug dependency. This includes supporting improvements to help increase the number of people with alcohol and drug problems that are in treatment, helping local authorities improve their drug-related death review process and providing further advice on the provision of the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone.In 2017 PHE launched ‘Health Matters: Preventing drug misuse deaths’, an online resource for professionals which brings together the latest data and evidence, makes the case for effective public health interventions and highlights tools and resources that can facilitate local or national action. The blog can be viewed at the following link:https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2017/03/01/health-matters-preventing-drug-misuse-deaths/

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Misuse

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been in contact with drug and alcohol services since 2009-10; what assessment he has made of the reasons for changes in the number of people making contact during that time period; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people are able to make contact with drug and alcohol services.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have discontinued drug and alcohol treatment within (a) three months and (b) six months of starting such treatment in each of the last seven financial years; and what plans his Department has to reduce such discontinuation rates.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) publishes national statistics on alcohol and drug treatment.The numbers of people in contact with alcohol and drug treatment services since 2009-10 are shown in the following table.Numbers of people in contact with alcohol and drug treatment services since 2009-10YearNumber2009-10311,6672010-11309,0002011-12299,5652012-13297,1052013-14301,9442014-15295,2242015-16288,8432016-17279,793Source: Substance misuse treatment for adults: statistics 2016 to 2017 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-and-treatment-in-adults-statistics-2016-to-2017In 2016-17, nearly 280,000 people received treatment for alcohol and drugs, a decrease of 3% and the largest drop seen over the last six years. This decrease is largely due to the reduction in people starting treatment for alcohol problems only. The numbers of people getting treatment for alcohol has fallen by 12% from a peak of 91,651 in 2013-14.PHE is assessing the reasons for the fall in alcohol treatment numbers through work with local authorities to look closely at treatment numbers and reasons for changes in the number of people in treatment. Based on this, PHE will be providing advice to local authorities.Data on numbers of people who have discontinued treatment is not available in the format requested.PHE is continuing to support local authorities to commission effective, accessible treatment services to meet local need. It does this by providing data, including online management reporting and a new Public Health Dashboard, as well as guidance and other tailored support for local authorities.

Addictions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many clinical commissioning groups have an addiction workforce strategy; and what plans his Department has to increase the number of local commissioners with an addiction workforce strategy.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many addiction psychiatrists are employed in drug and alcohol addiction treatment services; how many psychiatrists have been employed in those services in each year since 2009-10; what plans his Department has to increase the number of addiction psychiatrists employed in those services; and what plans his Department has to increase the number of training posts in addiction psychiatry.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Local authorities are responsible for assessing the needs of their local population, including people with drug problems, and commissioning services to meet these needs. Needs assessment and commissioning to support people who have co-occurring drug and mental health problems should be done in partnership with local National Health Service mental health trusts which are responsible for local mental health issues. NHS England and Public Health England do not hold any information on how many clinical commissioning groups have addiction workforce strategies. NHS Digital does not hold information on the number of addiction psychiatrists employed in drug and addiction services. Health Education England (HEE) is working with the Royal College of Psychiatry (RCPsych) to increase the exposure to psychiatry during doctor training (which can help increase applications for the specialty). HEE has already increased the number of doctors in the Foundation Programme doing a four month psychiatry post to 50%. The RCPsych will complete the review of this expansion with a view to HEE commissioning a further expansion from 2019. HEE will also look to ensure, from 2019, that all doctors in the Foundation Programme undertake a ‘taster’ two week attachment in psychiatry unless they are doing a four month psychiatry post.

NHS England

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS England EU Transition Team has taken to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual budget is of the NHS England EU Transition Team; and what the remit of that team is.

Stephen Barclay: The NHS England European Union Exit team provides operational advice to the Government on the likely impact of their plans on the National Health Service, supporting the Department in preparing the health and care system for EU exit. The NHS England EU Exit team does not have a specific budget as it forms part of the wider strategy unit.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent representations he has received from NHS England on changing the four-hour accident and emergency waiting target.

Stephen Barclay: As my Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out in her speech on 18 June, this Government wants to ensure that the National Health Service is focused on the right targets - for both physical and mental health - which incentivise the best care and outcomes for patients, and have the broad support of our health professionals. This work is being taken forward as the NHS develops its long-term plan for the future to ensure the best possible health service. Professor Steve Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, has been asked to lead a review of clinical standards. NHS England has made no representations on possible findings of the review.

NHS Trusts: Staff

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent representations he has received from NHS trusts on workforce morale.

Stephen Barclay: National Health Service organisations are primarily responsible for the morale of their staff. The Department recognises variation in staff morale across different types if NHS organisation and staff groups. The Department is taking action to help employers in their responsibility for improving morale by introducing a new pay deal for the majority of non-medical and dental NHS staff, supporting employers to reduce employee sickness absence via NHS England’s recently launched NHS staff health and wellbeing framework including quicker access to musculoskeletal and mental health services for staff who need them, encouraging better use of flexible working options to support staff at different stages of their careers through NHS Improvement’s staff retention collaborative and working in partnership with unions and employers to tackle bullying of and violence against NHS staff.

NHS: Parking

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts received in car parking charges levied against blue badge holders in 2017-18.

Stephen Barclay: The information requested is not collected centrally.

NHS: Pay

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of staff on each agenda for change band who will have a net pay decrease this year.

Stephen Barclay: It is not feasible to make an assessment of the net pay of staff as a result of the Agenda for Change pay award this year. Net pay is determined by a number of factors that would not be known such as income tax allowances and at what income levels marginal tax rates apply that are personal to individuals. Also, unsocial hours payments in particular will vary during the course of the year. All staff earning up to £69,168, the top of band 8c, will see an increase of at least 3% in gross base pay by the end of this financial year through a combination of the increase in pay point values and incremental progression.

NHS: Standards

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) NHS trusts and (b) Foundation Trusts have been placed in (i) special measures and (ii) financial special measures in each year since 2012; how many of those Trusts remain in special measures.

Caroline Dinenage: Special Measures for Quality was introduced in July 2013 and Special Measures for Finance was introduced in July 2016. The information is shown in the following tables. Numbers of trusts in Special Measures for Quality, per year National Health Service trustFoundation trustTotalCurrent (as of September 2018)76132018 (from January to August)116172017139222016128202015101020201471118201368142012000 Numbers of trusts in Special Measures for Finance, per year NHS trustFoundation trustTotalCurrent (as of September 2018)65112018 (from January to August)7512201786142016617

Thromboembolism

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the research conducted by the Health Service Journal, published on 8 May 2018, if he will make an estimate on the number of patients at risk of developing a venous thromboembolism as a result of the decline in assessments being undertaken.

Steve Brine: In the third quarter of 2017/18, England as a whole continued to achieve the 95% NHS Standard Contract threshold for venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessments. Of the 3.7 million admitted adult inpatients for whom data was reported in this collection, 3.5 million (95%) were risk assessed for VTE on admission. NHS Improvement is working with providers to ensure that they are meeting this target on a consistent basis and that any variation is reduced to ensure patients are kept safe.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the document, Stepping forward to 2020/21: The mental health workforce plan for England, published by the NHS in July 2017, how many of the additional 19,000 mental health staff to be recruited by 2020 were employed by July 2018.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services: Vacancies

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) posts and (b) vacancies were there in mental health NHS trusts in England in the most recent month for which data is available.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Improvement collect vacancy rates from individual National Health Service providers and publish them as part of their “Quarterly performance of the NHS provider sector” report. There are 53 NHS mental health providers. The most recent data reported in Q1 2018/19 (as at the end of June 2018) shows that there are 187,215 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) workforce staff in post with 22,018 vacancies. This is a vacancy rate of 10.5% out of a total workforce establishment (209,233 WTE). This information represents management information only and not an official statistic.

Mental Health Services: Resignations

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of mental health staff that have left the NHS since June 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. In England, 23,6861 mental health staff left the National Health Service between June 2017 and 31 May 2018, headcount. The figure above provides the widest possible view of the mental health workforce available from NHS Digital and includes:- All staff in mental health, learning disability and care trusts;- Psychiatry doctors;- Nurses specialising in “community psychiatry”, “other psychiatry”, “community learning disabilities, “other learning disabilities”; and- Staff with a primary area of work of “psychiatry”, for example a paediatrician whose primary area of work is ‘psychiatry’. Data for Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is not available on the Electronic Staff Record and therefore, not included in the figure above. 1Source: NHS Digital, NHS HCHS workforce statistics.

Radiotherapy

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2018 to Question 147424 on Radiotherapy, when the postcode-level dataset which will enable the calculation of travel times to radiotherapy centres will be published.

Steve Brine: In June 2018, The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) published three reports relating to patient travel times and cancer, in response to the Independent Cancer Taskforce recommendation 27. The reports are available at the following link: http://www.ncin.org.uk/cancer_type_and_topic_specific_work/topic_specific_work/travel_times The reports cover the following topics:- Travel Times and Methodology summarises NCRAS’ investigations of several possible ways of calculating travel times;- Travel Times and Cancer Survival is an overview of survival for the four most common cancers, relative to travel time to the nearest hospital with a relevant multidisciplinary team; and- Travel Times and Cancer Treatment is a report on treatment with radiotherapy for localised prostate cancer, relative to travel time to a radiotherapy centre. Postcode-level data is potentially disclosive and is therefore not made routinely available. Such data may be made available to researchers who apply through Public Health England’s Office for Data Release, with a specific health-care related research question and appropriate research ethics permissions.

Radiotherapy

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Government response to the consultation on allocating funds to radiotherapy services which closed on 24 January 2018.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of 10 January 2018, Official Report, column 146WH, when he plans to (a) publish the findings of the consultation on making radiotherapy services more accessible and (b) assess data on travel times for such therapy.

Steve Brine: Following the consultation – ‘Modernising radiotherapy services in England’ – NHS England plan to publish a consultation report which outlines the feedback themes, alongside publication of the final radiotherapy service specification. The publication is currently expected to take place in autumn 2018.

Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships: Public Appointments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the application process is for the role of Chair of a Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.

Stephen Barclay: Sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) leaders are locally appointed to ensure that they have the full confidence of the local health system. The recruitment of STP leaders is initially sought from among the leadership of the local partner organisations. Leaders come from a mix of backgrounds, and include provider chief executives, clinical commissioning groups accountable officers, local authority senior leaders and clinicians, recognising the need for local systems to work in partnership. Where no local candidate can take on this additional responsibility, external candidates are considered who have sufficient skills and expertise to lead a complex health and social care transformation programme. Each STP chair is agreed by NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Methadone

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the rates of recovery from heroin addiction through methadone in the UK and other countries.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the rate of methadone usage in the last three years.

Steve Brine: No comparative assessment has been made of the rates of recovery from heroin addiction through methadone in the United Kingdom and other countries. There has been no estimate made of the general rate of methadone usage in the last three years.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Peers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many members of the House of Lords hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within (i) her Department and (ii) her Department's agencies.

Harriett Baldwin: Ministerial remuneration and pension details are published in the Remuneration and Staff Report section of DFID’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Nigeria: Global Financing Facility

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s past investment in the Global Financing Facility in support of Every Woman Every Child in Nigeria.

Harriett Baldwin: The Global Financing Facility (GFF) is a country driven financing partnership. In Nigeria the plans are to scale up health services in conflict affected North East Nigeria, accelerating nutrition results for women, children and adolescents in Nigeria, and support to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund. We hope the GFF’s investment in this Fund will improve and strengthen primary health care starting in three of Nigeria’s 36 states. This is designed to leverage additional Government of Nigeria financing every year to scale up the scheme across the rest of the country. All the projects are at an early stage. We expect delivery in some areas will be particularly challenging and appropriate planning and preparation is needed.

Palestinians: Schools

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2017 to Question 8642, for what reasons her Department concluded that the IMPACT-SE report on the Palestinian Elementary School Curriculum 2016-17 was not objective in its findings.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government was very concerned at some of the allegations outlined in the IMPACT-SE report. We are therefore working to commission a robust study into the new Palestinian textbooks. Our assessment is that the IMPACT-SE report was not objective in its findings and lacked methodological rigour. For example, some claims were made on the basis of a partial or subjective reading of the text, some findings are presented out of context, and there was limited information available about the sampling approach to select textbooks to analyse.

Palestinians: Schools

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the Palestinian Authority's school curriculum compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between her Department and the Palestinian Authority.

Alistair Burt: Our support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which requires the PA to commit to the principle of non-violence and address allegations of incitement to violence. In May 2018, we assessed the PA had adhered to the terms of the MoU. At the same time, we have discussed the issue of incitement in the education system with our counterparts in the Palestinian Authority, and are now working to commission a robust study into the new Palestinian textbooks.

Department for Education

GCE A-level

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of pupils (a) entitled to and (b) not entitled to free school meals who achieved (i) AAA, (ii) AAB and (iii) ABB grades at A-level in the last five years.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 11 September 2018



The number of students, at the end of Key Stage 5, achieving A*-B grades in A levels, split by Free School Meal status, is provided in the attached table. 



169552_Number_of_students_achieving_A_B_grades
(Excel SpreadSheet, 30.92 KB)

Department for Education: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total cost to the public purse for his Department’s work preparing for the UK to leave the EU has been since 23 June 2016.

Anne Milton: Holding answer received on 11 September 2018



Her Majesty’s Treasury has allocated over £2 billion of additional funding to all government departments and the devolved administrations for EU exit preparations so far.Of which, over £1.5 billon of funding is for 2018/19. A full breakdown for this can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13 March (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/).

Children: Day Care

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on the viability of private, voluntary and independent childcare providers of current levels of business rates paid by those providers.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are investing a record amount on childcare support, spending around £6 billion per year by the period 2019 to 2020. This includes £1 billion a year to deliver 30 hours of free childcare and to increase our hourly funding rates that we introduced in April 2017.The department’s increased level of investment was based on our ‘Review of Childcare Costs’, which was described as ‘thorough and wide ranging’ by the National Audit Office. The review looked at the costs of childcare provision, including business rates. We have commissioned new research to understand provider’s current costs.The government has also increased Small Business Rate Relief and provided local authorities with funding to support £300 million of discretionary business rates relief. Local authorities are able to use this to support local nurseries.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Mr Simon Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what average spending per pupil was in (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Redcar and Cleveland in each year since 2009-10.

Nick Gibb: School-level figures for spending per pupil by local authority are published annually. The Department publishes information on income and expenditure in schools on the Schools Financial Benchmarking website, available at:https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/Help/DataSources.To download data for all schools click on the Data Sources link and then CFR data (Consistent Financial Reporting, covering local authority maintained schools) and AAR data (Academies Accounts Return, for academy schools).Average spending per pupil (£’s) – Local Authority Maintained schoolsYear (Financial)(a) Middlesbrough(b) Redcar and Cleveland2009-10**2010-11£4,656£4,8642011-12£4,945£4,9402012-13£4,916£4,8112013-14£4,767£4,9182014-15£5,125£5,1332015-16£5,211£5,3512016-17£5,050£5,068Source: CFR data (Consistent Financial Reporting, covering local authority maintained schools) available at:https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data?currentstep=datatypes&regiontype=all&la=0&downloadYear=2016-2017&datatypes=spendperpupilfull.  Average spending per pupil (£’s) – Academy schoolsYear (Academic)(a) Middlesbrough(b) Redcar and Cleveland2009/10**2010/11**2011/12£7,286£7,6312012/13£7,164£7,8132013/14£7,089£7,2792014/15£6,646£6,2912015/16£6,395£5,8482016/17£5,464£5,586* : Data not availableSource: AAR data (Academies Accounts Return, for academy schools) available at:https://sat1prsfb.blob.core.windows.net/sfb/SFB_Academies_2016-17_download.xlsx.

Schools: North Yorkshire

Mr Simon Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools in (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Redcar and Cleveland are classified as Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Nick Gibb: As at 31 March 2018, Ofsted inspection data shows the proportion of schools in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland:a) There were 84% of schools in Middlesbrough classified as Good or Outstanding, andb) There were 86% of schools in Redcar and Cleveland classified as Good or Outstanding.

English Baccalaureate: North Yorkshire

Mr Simon Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children in (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Redcar and Cleveland achieved the English Baccalaureate attainment measure in each year for which information is available.

Nick Gibb: Information on the proportion of pupils who achieved the English Baccalaureate in each year is published at local authority, regional and national level in the 'GCSE and equivalent results in England: statistical first release' series[1]; the English Baccalaureate was first available in 2009/10. The percentage of pupils, in state-funded schools, achieving the English Baccalaureate in each academic year is provided in the attached table.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4. 



170440_Percentage_Students_Achieving_EBacc
(PDF Document, 14.45 KB)

Higher Education: Admissions

Mr Simon Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) all pupils and (b) pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in (i) Middlesbrough and (ii) Redcar and Cleveland entered university in each year since 2009-10.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The department publishes information on the percentage of 15 year old pupils from state-funded and special schools who entered higher education by age 19 by free school meal status, local authority and region. Figures for Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland can be found in Table 2a of the following file:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/635104/SFR39-2017-MainTables.xlsx.

Apprentices: Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland

Mr Simon Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency started an apprenticeship in each year since 2009-10.

Anne Milton: The attached table shows figures for apprenticeship starts in the Middleborough South and East Cleveland constituency since the 2009/10 academic year, including data for the first three quarters of the 2017/2018 academic year (August 2017 to April 2018) as published in the FE data library: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fe-data-library.



170442_Apprenticeship_starts_by_age_and_year 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 57 KB)

GCSE

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on which GCSE subjects that were available in the 2017-18 school year will no longer be available by 2020-21.

Nick Gibb: The government has reformed GCSEs to be more rigorous and to match expectations in countries with high performing education systems. As part of this reform process, a number of GCSE subjects are being withdrawn.Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, has published a list of legacy GCSEs, AS and A levels and the date of the last available opportunity to undertake examinations in each subject. This also sets out the reason for withdrawal where the legacy qualifications are not being replaced as part of the reforms.The list can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/timings-for-the-withdrawal-of-legacy-gcses-as-and-a-levels.

Sixth Form Education: Finance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of education funding for sixth form students.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on the adequacy of funding for the education of sixth form students.

Anne Milton: We recognise that every young person should have access to an excellent education which is why we announced in the last spending review that we will continue to protect the base rate of funding for 16 to 19 year olds until 2020. We are continuing to provide disadvantage funding (over £500 million in 2017/18) and other uplifts in addition to the base rate of funding for programmes that are more expensive to deliver.In addition we have announced funding increases to strengthen education for 16 to 19 year olds in key respects. We are offering further funding to support institutions to grow participation in level 3 maths (an extra £600 for every additional student), and to pilot extra support for post-16 basic maths.We are making a substantial investment in technical education for 16 to 19 year olds, rising eventually to an additional £500 million a year when T Levels are fully rolled out. Our commitment to the 16 to 19 sector has contributed to the current record high proportion of 16 and 17 year olds who are participating in education or apprenticeships since consistent records began.The department works closely with HM Treasury in considering spending on 16 to 19 education. We are actively exploring the efficiency and resilience of the further education sector and will be assessing how far existing and forecast funding and regulatory structures enable high quality provision.

Mental Health: Curriculum

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what curriculum requirements there are in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools to teach mental health.

Nick Gibb: The Government wants all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. Good mental health is central to this aim.The Department is making Relationships Education compulsory in all primary schools, Relationships and Sex Education compulsory in all secondary schools and Health Education compulsory in all state-funded schools. A consultation has been launched on the draft guidance and regulations which closes on the 7 November, and is available to view here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/pshe/relationships-education-rse-health-education.The draft statutory guidance sets out the core content that primary and secondary schools will teach.The guidance and regulations were informed by a thorough engagement process. The public call for evidence received over 23,000 responses from parents, young people and schools. The Department has also consulted 90 organisations representing a broad range of views. A summary of the call for evidence has been published alongside the consultation. Schools will be required to start teaching the subjects from September 2020. Schools that want to teach the new subjects from September 2019 will be encouraged to do so.

Home Education

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are home-schooled in (a) Coventry South constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Anne Milton: Data on the number of children educated at home are not collected centrally. Local authorities may collect such data, but as there is no obligation upon parents to register children as being educated at home, such data will not be complete.

Nurses: Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) nursing associates and (b) apprentice nurses are in training.

Anne Milton: There have been 64,830 apprenticeship starts in Health, Public Services and Care, reported to date, in the first three quarters of the 2017 to 2018 academic year (August 2017 to April 2018) in England, the data for which can be accessed at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-first-release-sfr.We want to increase the number of nursing apprenticeships and now have a complete apprentice pathway from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice in nursing. This will support people from all backgrounds to enter a nursing career in the NHS.In the 2017/18 academic year reported to date (from August 2017 to April 2018), there have been 260 apprenticeship starts recorded for the Registered Nurse standard (degree apprenticeship approved for delivery on 9 May 2017), and 640 apprenticeship starts recorded for the Nursing Associate standard (Level 5 apprenticeship standard approved for delivery on 20 November 2017). There were no starts on these standards in the 2016/17 academic year. Full final year data for the academic year 2017 to 2018 will be available in November 2018.We are working closely with employers, Health Education England and ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care to make sure the NHS is fully supported to recruit apprentices, both in nursing and in a range of other occupations. For example, 2,000 Nursing Associates started training on Health Education England’s pilot project in 2017.

Education Fellowship Trust

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2018 to Question 138485, on Education Fellowship Trustm, whether (a) Pembroke Park Primary in Wiltshire and (b) Wrenn Academy in Northamptonshire have been re-brokered.

Nadhim Zahawi: I refer the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne, to the answer I gave on 10 September 2018 to Question 168005: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-07-24/168005/.

Ministry of Justice

Law Centres

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's policy is on Law Centres.

Lucy Frazer: The ability of individuals to resolve their legal problems is vital to a just society. We are committed to ensuring that legal aid and legal support are available to those who need it most. The Government recognises the work that Law Centres do in the local community, and supports Law Centres through both grant funding and through legal aid contracts. We will continue to engage with Law Centres about jointly creating a modern justice system that works for all. Officials from the Ministry of Justice regularly and constructively engage with Law Centres. We have met with representatives from Law Centres on a number of occasions both generally and as part of the evidence gathering phase of the Post Implementation Review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Insights from organisations like Law Centres who work within communities are crucial to understanding the experience of individuals as they progress through the justice system.

Private Prosecutions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions initiated by private third parties were brought to trial in the last five years; and how many of those prosecutions resulted in a conviction.

Lucy Frazer: The information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice does not identify whether a prosecution is private.

Magistrates

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the reduction in the number of magistrates in (a) England and Wales and (b) Northumbria in the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: In England and Wales, as workloads have reduced and efficiencies have been delivered, the number of magistrates has reduced from 25,155 on 1 April 2012 to 15,003 on 1 April 2018. The corresponding figures for Northumbria are, 901 on 1 April 2012 to 421 on 1 April 2018. Information on the number of magistrates from 2015 to date can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/search?q=judicial+diversity+statistics+. Information regarding numbers on 1 April 2012 can be found at: https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/magistrates-in-post-2012/.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Help to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the amount of Help to Buy equity loan funding that will be written off in each of the next five financial years.

James Brokenshire: The Help to Buy offers equity loans, and as such they would not be subject to a write-off as might be the case with a conventional mortgage. The portfolio is measured at fair value, with the valuation reported in Homes England’s annual accounts. This also includes scenario analysis to consider the impact on the valuation of the portfolio under various economic scenarios.

Help to Buy Scheme: Fraud

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of levels of Help to Buy fraud.

James Brokenshire: Homes England, the Agency responsible for operating the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme on behalf of Government, has a range of procedures in place aimed at identifying and mitigating the risk of fraud relating to the scheme and assessments are carried out periodically to provide assurance that they are effective.Help to Buy customers are evaluated through the application process by the mortgage lender for the primary mortgage and by Homes England for the Equity Loan. Thereafter, accounts are monitored on an on going basis. Homes England, as the second lender, is afforded initial protection from the first lender, which reduces the Government’s exposure to fraud.In addition, Homes England has a counter-fraud action plan, which includes the periodic assessment of fraud and bribery risk across the organisation and its activities. The risk assessment process includes identifying areas and causes of potential fraud and bribery and review of the controls in place to mitigate or eliminate these risks. As part of the counter-fraud action plan a number of control improvements are planned or underway.

Sleeping Rough

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of rough sleepers who have spent time in foster care.

Nigel Adams: It is vital we ensure all young people, particularly those who have been in care, have the right support and skills to live independently in later life. In the recently announced Rough Sleeping strategy, the Government has committed to fund £3.2 million in 47 areas to employ specialist personal advisers to provide intensive support, appropriate to needs of the most at-risk care leavers.The Government’s most recent annual rough sleeping statistics for England were published in autumn 2017 and can be found on the gov.uk website. Statistics for Wales are published by the Welsh Government and the annual rough sleeping snapshot for Wales, published on 1 February 2018, can be found on gov.wales. In addition, CHAIN, which records information about people sleeping rough in London, shows 580 people seen rough sleeping in 2017/18 had previous experience of living in care at some point in their lives.In April 2018 the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Governments introduced a new case-level data collection called H-CLIC (Homelessness Case Level Information Collection). This will give local authorities and Government more information regarding homelessness and those presenting as homeless, including those individuals who have been in care and who have slept rough.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications are for her policies of the finding in the June 2018 NAO report Rolling Out Universal Credit which questioned her expectation that most claimants would have enough money to manage over the initial waiting period.

Alok Sharma: Some claimants at the start of their Universal Credit claim an income, such as final earnings, to help them manage until their first payment. However, for Universal Credit claimants not in this position, advance payments have always been available in order to prevent financial hardship. The Department had previously estimated 49% of Universal Credit claimants would apply for a new claims/benefit transfer advance (what the NAO report refers to as “most claimants not needing support”); however as the NAO report showed the actual figure is 60%. This clearly shows that claimants are being made aware of advances, that our advance system is being utilised and is working, and consequently that people are getting help when they need it. Personal Budgeting Support (PBS) is also offered to Universal Credit claimants from the outset of their claim. PBS helps claimants as they transition to Universal Credit and adapt to the financial changes that Universal Credit brings. PBS can be online, telephone or face to face support. Face to face support is delivered through local authorities via Universal Support. We constantly review the working of Universal Credit in line with our test and learn approach, and we have already implemented policy changes to address many of the concerns raised in the report. This includes the package of measures announced at the Autumn Budget 2017, such as making advances of up to 100% of the indicative award available and increasing the repayment period to 12 months, removing the 7 waiting days, providing an additional payment of 2 weeks of Housing Benefit to support claimants when they transition to Universal Credit, and changing how claimants in temporary accommodation receive support for their housing costs. People can claim advances as soon as they make their claim, so no-one needs to experience hardship when claiming Universal Credit or waiting for their first payment.

Social Security Benefits

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the statistics on support for a maximum of two children published by HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions on 28 June 2018, what analysis his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) undertaking on the number of affected households in (a) the first year of that policy and (b) the estimate published in the Government’s Impact Assessment in July 2015.

Alok Sharma: The Government has already undertaken analysis of the estimate published in the Impact Assessment in July 2015. The analysis found that the difference between the estimate in the Impact Assessment and the published statistics is due to a combination factors, including improvements to the methodology used to identify the affected population, divergences between the economic determinants used to model the policy and actual outturn, and changes in the underlying claimant population. No formal analysis of the separate impact of these factors has been made.

Social Security Benefits: Telephone Services

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time has been for calls to the (a) employment support allowance and (b) the personal independence payment helpline in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: Gov.uk directs Employment and Support Allowance enquiries to the Jobcentre Plus Benefit line (0800 169 0310), where they are referred to the appropriate team, and Personal Independence Payment enquiries to the PIP helpline (0800 121 4433). These do not include new claims. The table below shows the average speed of answer (in hours:minutes:seconds) for telephone calls to the Jobcentre Plus Benefit Enquiry Line relating to Employment and Support Allowance enquiries and the Personal Independence Payment enquiries received for the last 5 years from April to March for each year. No data is available for November 2017 due to migration to the NGCC telephony system.  Average Speed of AnswerEmployment Support Allowance EnquiriesPersonal Independence Payment Enquiries2013 – 201400:01:2500:02:052014 – 201500:03:4100:01:162015 – 201600:04:0000:01:402016 – 201700:09:5600:05:402017 – 201800:13:0100:04:11 The Average Speed of Answer is the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. This figure excludes any time spent in pre-queue messaging and any wait time for calls ultimately abandoned by callers.

Universal Credit

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of jobcentre closures on the ease with which vulnerable people can manage their Universal Credit claims.

Alok Sharma: We are committed to retaining an extensive Jobcentre network, and continuing to support claimants across the country to make sure they can access the services they need. We continue to maintain the same level of service to claimants during any changes to the location of their Jobcentre. This includes taking into account their individual circumstances, including any health conditions, disabilities or caring responsibilities. We have robust procedures in place if visiting the Jobcentre becomes difficult, including the offer of home visits. We provide outreach services in partnership with national and local organisations to deliver Jobcentre services in a partner’s premises. Local jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to help meet the needs of their communities, helping our most vulnerable, at risk, claimants to access the support they need.Vulnerable claimants who are affected by Jobcentre closures remain supported by their Work Coach to ensure services are bespoke to the individual. A freephone telephone helpline and Universal Support is also available for claimants to make and manage a Universal Credit claim.

Department for Work and Pensions: Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Employment Advisers were employed by her Department in each of the last five years.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the ratio between Disability Employment Advisors and Work Coaches employed in JobCentre Plus centres.

Sarah Newton: Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) have been recruited in every country and region of Great Britain. As of July 2018, there are 458 full time equivalent DEAs in place across the Jobcentre network, with the actual headcount being above 500 when taking account of part time and dual role workers.As of July 2018 the ratio of Disability Employment Advisers to Work Coaches is 1:28. Table of full time equivalent DEAs for the last 5 years.DEA (FTE)Year458.12July-18480.28April-17202.78April-16306.71April-15413.28April-14 DEAs, in partnership with Community Partners and Work Psychologists, are working to improve the capability of all Work Coaches to better support claimants, including those with disabilities.Disability Employment Advisers have a tailored learning journey that equips them with the skills and knowledge to support work coaches and other DWP staff when they are working with customers with a wide range of health conditions. This includes researching local healthcare and disabled services organisations and identifying sources of support for claimants with physical health conditions.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints relating to women affected by measures taken to equalise the state pension age the office of the Independent Case Examiner is currently dealing with; and how many such cases that office has processed in (a) the last 12 months and (b) the last 24 months.

Guy Opperman: At the end of August 2018, the Independent Case Examiner’s Office had 3,192 live complaints from women affected by measures taken to equalise the state pension age, at various stages of its process. We have interpreted the reference to ‘processed’ as meaning closed or completed. The ICE Office received the first of this group of complaints in October 2016 and one investigation report was issued, and in the period September 2017 to August 2018 150 investigation reports were issued. YearCompleted or Closed2016-1712017-18150

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of complaints relating to women affected by measures taken to equalise the state pension age submitted to the Independent Case Examiner have (a) progressed to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; and how many of those cases so progressed have concluded in favour of the complainant.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions does not have this data.

Universal Credit: Disability

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of claimants of (a) severe disability premium and (b) enhanced disability premium under employment support allowance have had a reduction in social security support as a result of moving from universal credit with the transitional provisions as outlined in the draft Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018.

Alok Sharma: Currently, there are no claimants receiving the transitional provisions as outlined in the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018. These have not yet come into force and are subject to parliamentary approval.

New Enterprise Allowance

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of recent trends in the number of individuals in receipt of the New Enterprise Allowance.

Alok Sharma: The Department regularly publishes official statistics for the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme, including an overview of the latest trends seen in the data. The latest publication can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/new-enterprise-allowance-april-2011-to-december-2017

Universal Credit: Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock

Bill Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants there are in the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency.

Alok Sharma: The latest available information on the number of people on Universal Credit by parliamentary constituency and local authority is published and can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

State Retirement Pensions

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people  have (a) made additional payments to increase the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions they require to claim the full state pension and (b) by making such payments have (i) exceeded the 35 years required to claim that pension and (ii) been refunded for making overpayments.

Guy Opperman: The requested information relating to the payment of voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions is not readily available. People with no National Insurance record before the introduction of the new State Pension on 6 April 2016 will need 35 qualifying years to get the full amount of new State Pension, when they reach State Pension age. For people with an existing National Insurance record before this date, transitional arrangements apply and their existing National Insurance (NI) record to 6 April 2016 is taken into account. (It is therefore not the case that 35 years of National Insurance will result in the full rate of the new State Pension for these people; in these cases there is usually not a direct relationship between the number of years of National Insurance contributions and the amount of State Pension someone receives.)People who qualify will receive at least as much from the new State Pension as they would have done from the old system, based on their NI record to 6 April 2018;Many people will be able to build a higher State Pension amount than they previously could have done by adding further qualifying years until they either reach the full rate of new State Pension, or their State Pension age whichever comes first

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that claimants do not lose their financial support if they are unable to make a claim for Universal Credit in time during managed migration.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 11 September 2018



Our focus for the process of the managed migration of existing benefits claimants to Universal Credit will be on safeguarding claimants and ensuring a smooth transition with uninterrupted support. We plan to have a comprehensive and well-supported preparation period for claimants, the flexibility to extend that period if necessary; and a process to ensure that, before the existing benefits are stopped, agents will check for evidence of complex needs or vulnerability or disability. We are working closely with stakeholders and other parties to design the best possible process for the migration of our customers to Universal Credit, and will continue to do so.

Universal Credit

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report, Rolling out Universal Credit, published by the National Audit Office on 15 June 2018, how much her Department has paid in compensation to local authorities for additional costs incurred in relation to the implementation and wider impact of universal credit.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report, Rolling out Universal Credit, published by the National Audit Office on 15 June 2018, what data her Department collects on the additional cost incurred by local authorities in relation to the implementation of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 11 September 2018



The DWP provides local authorities with New Burdens funding to take account of additional costs. Furthermore, local authorities are invited to provide the Department with data as evidence of additional costs in excess of those already covered by New Burdens and Universal Support funding. In 2017/18 the DWP paid £13m in New Burdens funding. On top of this, 67 Local authorities received a total of £4.7m in extra payments to recognise additional costs in the early stages of roll out. The DWP has paid £14m in New Burden funding for 2018/19.

Employment: Disability

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to encourage (a) large employers and (b) SME employers to recruit disabled employees.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 11 September 2018



This Government is committed to supporting disabled people to reach their potential. We are engaging with employers through the Disability Confident scheme, which was developed by disabled people, employers and disability organisations to encourage employers to think differently about disability and to take action to improve how they attract, recruit and develop disabled employees. The Disability Confident Business Leaders Group (BLG), comprising senior leaders from significant British businesses across all sectors, is helping to increase engagement with employers. The group promotes the business benefits of disability employment and works with DWP officials to identify any changes or developments that will improve the effectiveness of the scheme. DWP is working with a range of stakeholders, including members of the Business Leaders Group and Professional Advisers Group, to drive sign-up to Disability Confident. Through employer-focused events, we are targeting employers of all size and sector and are working with MPs in their constituencies to encourage local community sign-up. We are also working with MPs around the country to arrange local events to get them as employers, and businesses in their constituencies, signed up. Over 7,500 employers are currently signed up to Disability Confident, of whom over 2,000 are large employers and 5,500 are SMEs. Over 2,800 employers have completed their self-assessment to become Disability Confident Employers (Level 2). These include organisations ranging in size from large multi nationals to local employers, including private businesses, colleges, sports clubs, NHS trusts and social enterprises. All main government Departments are at Level 3 (Disability Confident Leader) and over 80% of Local Authorities are Disability Confident. In addition, the department has instigated a requirement that all contractors for major contracts (exceeding £10 million in value) must have achieved Disability Confident Leader Status. DWP will work with its other suppliers to encourage them to become Disability Confident. Crown Commercial Services are developing a Public Procurement Notice on disability and employment. This will provide guidance on the work and health agenda, on the Stevenson/Farmer Core and Enhanced Standards on mental health, and it will identify how to encourage suppliers to sign up to Disability Confident.

Department for Work and Pensions: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by her Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP have not developed any dedicated mobile apps for employee or agency use.

Vacancies: Internet

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of vacancies filled as a result of the Find a Job website since May 2018.

Justin Tomlinson: Whilst users are able to apply for some vacancies directly through Find a job, other adverts require jobseekers to click through to an off site advert or apply via telephone. To date, the Find a job service has seen over 526,000 jobseekers sign up for verified accounts, making over 42.8 million searches and 2.25 million on-site applications. There are currently over 169,000 vacancies live on the site. We are unable to estimate the number of vacancies filled as a result of the Find a job website since its launch in May 2018 as jobseekers and employers have no obligation to tell us of any outcome. This is consistent with other job sites. Additionally vacancies on Find a job are often advertised on a number of job sites. This means that often the employer will not know which site the applicant has applied from.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Hunting

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make illegal the production and sale of fox urine for the purpose of hunting.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No.

Agriculture: Weather

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the approach taken by the devolved administrations in supporting farmers and food producers during the dry weather in summer 2018.

George Eustice: As agricultural policy in the UK is devolved, it is for each administration to decide its approach and what measures it should adopt according to its evaluation of the situation which pertains to its area. Accordingly, it would not be appropriate for Defra to comment on the approach which the devolved administrations have taken.

Meat Products: Import Controls

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will prohibit the importation of products, such as foie gras developed in ways which would not be permitted in the UK after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: We have some of the highest standards of animal welfare and the production of foie gras by force feeding is banned in the UK as it is incompatible with our domestic legislation. However, foie gras is produced in some EU member states. Once we leave the European Union, it will be open to government to review the approach to such imports and sales in the UK.

Meat: Ritual Slaughter

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is Departmental practice not to use the term ritual slaughter when discussing shechita and halal slaughtering process.

George Eustice: The Department refers to the term ‘slaughtered by religious rite’, as this is the terminology used in the relevant legislation. This may be shortened to ‘religious slaughter’.

Ragwort: Weed Control

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has published for local authorities on requiring the removal of ragwort from public land.

George Eustice: Guidance is available on the ‘Prevent harmful weeds and invasive non-native plants spreading’ GOV.UK webpage. Additionally, the ‘Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort’ sets out guidance for all landowners, including local authorities, on when and how ragwort should be removed.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Staff

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff are employed by his Department in (a) London and (b) each regions of England.

George Eustice: The breakdown of staff employed by the Department by Full-time Equivalent (FTE) as at 31 August 2018 is shown below: RegionFull-time EquivalentLondon1733.42South East275.86East of England133.09East Midlands39.8Yorkshire and Humber438.2North East103.34North West187.39West Midlands194South West611.26Home based Staff47.1Staff employed in Wales and Scotland10.00Grand Total3773.46 We have included home-based staff and those staff employed outside of England in order to give a full picture of the total FTE in the Department.

Coastal Erosion

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Coastal Protection Act 1949 on reducing the level of coastal erosion.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Coastal erosion is a natural process that always has and will shape our coastline. The 1949 Act granted powers to coastal protection authorities to help them manage these changes. It has been regularly updated since its inception to reflect changes in complementary legislation.   District councils, acting as Coastal Protection Authorities under this act, have since 1996 collaborated locally with a range of other interested parties, to develop 22 Shoreline Management Plans covering the coast of England and Wales.   The Environment Agency has strategic oversight for the production and quality control of Shoreline management plans. Over the next three years it will be funding a refresh of the plans by coastal authorities.

Potatoes

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potato crop for England and Wales in 2018.

George Eustice: With the cold, wet spring followed by the prolonged dry spell over June and July, some yield and quality issues are expected for the potato crop this year. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) estimate that there is a 3% reduction in the planted area in Great Britain. The harvest is on-going and estimates of yield and production will be published in Agriculture in the UK next spring.

Trees: Greater London

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has estimated the number of trees in the (a) Hendon constituency and (b) Greater London area.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The 2015 London i-Tree Eco Project, supported by the Forestry Commission, estimated that in 2014 there were 8.4 million trees in Greater London. This information was not broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Livestock: Animal Welfare

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the welfare of livestock of balloons and Chinese lanterns.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing restrictions on the use of (a) balloons and (b) Chinese lanterns on animal welfare grounds.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the responsible use of (a) balloons and (b) Chinese lanterns in relation to their effect on livestock.

George Eustice: An independent study commissioned by the UK and Welsh Governments published in 2013 concluded that the impacts of sky lanterns and balloons on the health and welfare of livestock were relatively minor.   Initiatives to minimise risks include a voluntary code of practice for sky lanterns to ensure they are manufactured to be safe and are sold responsibly. The National Association of Balloon Artists and Suppliers, the trade association for the balloon industry, has also published a code of conduct on balloon releases. The Government considers the current voluntary regime, supported by existing information and guidance, is effective and proportionate.

Agriculture

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish the draft Agricultural Bill.

George Eustice: The Government published the Agriculture Bill on 12 September 2018.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty sentences from six months to five years imprisonment.

George Eustice: The Government has announced that it intends to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty from 6 months’ imprisonment to 5 years’ imprisonment. The necessary legislation needed to make this change will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: World Health Organisation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have met officials from the World Trade Organisation since the EU referendum in June 2016; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The UK is a full and founding member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Since June 2016, Defra officials have consulted with a range of partners, including the WTO Secretariat and other WTO members, as we re-establish our independent membership upon leaving the EU. The Department for International Trade is primarily responsible for the government’s relationship with the WTO, as such Defra Ministers have not met with any WTO officials.

Fisheries

Bill Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK has more control of its fishing waters after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: After leaving the EU, the UK will become an independent coastal state under international law (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) and will have the right to control and manage access to fish in UK waters out to 200 nautical miles or the median line.

Home Office

Hunting

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to enforce legislation relating to the blocking of public highways by hunt followers during a hunt; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: The police and local authorities are empowered under Part IX of the Highways Act 1980 to take enforcement action against those who obstruct the public highway. How they do so is an operational matter in accordance with local plans and priorities.

Synthetic Cannabinoids: South West

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with Devon and Cornwall Police on tackling the availability and use of synthetic cannabinoid substances.

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to reclassify synthetic cannabinoid substances as class A drugs.

Mr Nick Hurd: We have regular discussions with the National Police Chiefs’ Council on the issue of synthetic cannabinoids and we recognise how dangerous they can be and the devastating impact that they can have on communities, families and the individuals taking them.That is why we acted to control these substances as class B drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in 2016, to give the police the powers they need to take action, including making possession illegal and delivering longer sentences for dealers.This followed recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that their harms are commensurate with other class B drugs.However, we will continue to monitor their impact.

Dangerous Driving: Police

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in England and Wales have been (a) investigated for, (b) charged with and (c) convicted of careless or dangerous driving while pursuing suspects by vehicle in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Nick Hurd: As this question refers primarily to investigations and charges relating to police officers, it was transferred to the Home Office for answering.The Home Office does not hold information on investigations into police officers pursuing suspects by vehicles or any subsequent associated charges.The Ministry of Justice have also informed Home Office that it is not possible to identify from centrally held data the number of police officers convicted of careless and dangerous driving while pursuing suspects by vehicle. Centrally held data does not identify whether defendants are police officers.

Crime: North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the document Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area Data Tables, published by the Office for National Statistics on 19 July 2018, what assessment his Department has made of the reason for the increase in the level of reported crime in Northumbria between April 2017 and March 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: Crime figures for England and Wales are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and incorporate police recorded crime (PRC) and the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). The table below shows the latest changes in PRC for Northumbria for the year ending March 2018 compared to the previous year.Source:  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesOverall, crime recorded by police forces in England and Wales increased by 11% in the year ending March 2018. The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that this increase is largely due to improvements in crime recording by police forces, and the increased willingness of victims to report such crimes to the police. The ONS has also noted that there have been genuine rises in some low-volume, high-harm categories of violence, notably knife crime, gun crime and homicide. Our Serious Violence Strategy, published on 9 April, puts greater focus on steering young people away from a life of crime, while continuing to promote a strong law enforcement response.The most recent national crime figures are published by the Office for National Statistic in ‘Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2018’ (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2018).

Visas

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason his Department has informed applicants for priority visas that the 30-day processing time would be extended to up to 12 weeks.

Caroline Nokes: The Priority Visa Service for settlement applications aims to process straightforward cases within 30 working days.Those applications made under the priority service will be placed to the front of the processing queue and expedited. However, it should be noted that timescales for decisions are not guaranteed.

Asylum: Housing

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria will be used to determine destitution in the renewed asylum accommodation contract.

Caroline Nokes: Section 95 of the of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 provides that an asylum seeker is destitute and therefore eligible to receive accommodation and other support from the Home Office if:a) he does not have adequate accommodation or the means of obtaining it (whether or not his other essential living needs are met); orb)he has adequate accommodation or the means of obtaining it, but cannot meet his other essential living needs.The definition is not changed by the re-tender of the Home Office asylum accommodation contracts. The legislation provides that, unless there are children in their household, a person ceases to be eligible to receive section 95 support 21 days after their asylum claim or any appeal is finally rejected. However, another form of support, including accommodation, is available under section 4(2) of the 1999 Act if the person is taking reasonable steps to leave the UK or there is a temporary or legal or practical obstacle that prevents their departure.Cessation of s95 support occurs once an applicant is no longer eligible, through having exhausted all appeal rights, being granted a form of leave, has been removed from the country or having left the accommodation voluntarily. Operational checks are undertaken to ensure that there are no outstanding issues or applications, and support can be reinstated if information is received to the contrary.There is no provision in the accommodation contracts that enable people who cease to qualify for section 95 support and do not qualify for section 4(2) support to continue to be housed.

Asylum: Housing

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) enforce the provisions in the asylum accommodation contract that people who would otherwise be destitute will continue to be housed.

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have had their housing provision removed before their asylum process was fully completed including the appeals process since 2012.

Caroline Nokes: Section 95 of the of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 provides that an asylum seeker is destitute and therefore eligible to receive accommodation and other support from the Home Office if:a) he does not have adequate accommodation or the means of obtaining it (whether or not his other essential living needs are met);or b)he has adequate accommodation or the means of obtaining it, but cannot meet his other essential living needs.The definition is not changed by the re-tender of the Home Office asylum accommodation contracts. The legislation provides that, unless there are children in their household, a person ceases to be eligible to receive section 95 support 21 days after their asylum claim or any appeal is finally rejected. However, another form of support, including accommodation, is available under section 4(2) of the 1999 Act if the person is taking reasonable steps to leave the UK or there is a temporary or legal or practical obstacle that prevents their departure.Cessation of s95 support occurs once an applicant is no longer eligible, through having exhausted all appeal rights, being granted a form of leave, has been removed from the country or having left the accommodation voluntarily. Operational checks are undertaken to ensure that there are no outstanding issues or applications, and support can be reinstated if information is received to the contrary.There is no provision in the accommodation contracts that enable people who cease to qualify for section 95 support and do not qualify for section 4(2) support to continue to be housed.

Immigrants: Compensation

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has paid damages under its hostile environment immigration policy on condition that the recipient did not publicise that payment since October 2010.

Caroline Nokes: Further to my response to UIN 160359 of 4 July 2018 stated that since 2010 the Home Office had paid £12,360 in ex-gratia payments in relation to 8 cases where compliant environment measures had been applied.Home Office records indicate that since 2010 there have been no payments for damages relating to compliant environment measures.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

David Mundell: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland has not developed any mobile phone applications. Therefore there is no list to publish and no cost to the public purse.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps the Government has taken in its negotiations with the EU to maintain the diagonal accumulation of origin principle in relation to automotive (a) goods and (b) supplies after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We want to ensure the trade in goods between the UK and EU remains frictionless at the border, and that businesses can continue to operate, as much as possible, through their established global value and supply chains.The UK is therefore proposing that there will be no routine requirements for rules of origin on trade in goods between the UK and the EU, and arrangements that facilitate cumulation with current and future Free Trade Agreement partners. These proposals cover all goods, including automotive goods and supplies.

Voting Rights: EU Nationals

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what voting rights EU nationals living in the UK will have after the UK has left the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office (Chloe Smith) on 28 March to Question 129820 to the hon. Member for Cambridge.

Brexit: Negotiations

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent progress he has made on negotiations with the EU on the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Suella Braverman: As the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union set out in his oral statement to the House on Tuesday 4 September, we have injected additional pace and intensity into the negotiations as we reach the final phases and we are confident a deal is within our grasp.The Government’s White Paper supplies a precise, responsible and credible basis for moving negotiations forward to achieve a deal that works in our mutual interest. We expect the EU to engage seriously with the proposals and both negotiating teams to work at pace to reach a substantive agreement on the Future Framework in the autumn.The vast majority of the Withdrawal Agreement has also been agreed and we have made further progress across a range of the outstanding separation issues, including the protection of data and information, the treatment of ongoing police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters, and ongoing Union judicial and administrative procedures after exit.

Migrant Workers: Visas

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 46 of Chapter 3 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, whether the proposal for a reciprocal exchange of expertise and personnel between UK and EU institutions will include sector specific visas for workers in the foreign, defence and development sectors.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government believes that it will be beneficial to both the UK and the EU to agree a future programme for the reciprocal exchange of expertise and personnel in areas of mutual interest and collaboration, including in the area of foreign policy, defence and development cooperation.On the UK's future immigration policy, we will set out further detail in the Immigration White Paper in due course, taking into account the findings of the Migration Advisory Committee.

Brexit

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department has made a regional assessment of the effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Suella Braverman: We are committed to getting the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for all parts of the UK. We do not want or expect a no-deal scenario and remain confident that we will secure a mutually advantageous deal with the EU. We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy, and all regions and nations of the UK, in order to inform our negotiations.The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis, across a range of scenarios, in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. Ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that would reveal our negotiating position and so the Government will not provide an ongoing commentary on internal analytical work.

Treasury

Beer: Excise Duties

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward a reduction in the duty on beer.

Robert Jenrick: Consumers, local pubs and breweries have benefitted significantly from freezes and cuts to beer and other alcohol duties in recent years. After the cuts and freezes we have made to beer duty since 2013, the average tax in 2018 on a typical pint of beer is expected to be 12p lower than it would otherwise have been. However this comes at significant cost to the Exchequer. Since 2013/14, cuts and freezes to alcohol duties have cost approximately £4 billion. This is equivalent to over 100,000 teachers’ yearly salaries.

Tobacco: Taxation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a tobacco industry levy to fund smoking cessation services provided by local authorities.

Robert Jenrick: The government has no current plans to review the decision not to introduce a tobacco levy. A levy would complicate the tax system, impose an administrative burden on businesses and HMRC and would create uncertainty for businesses and consumers. The 2015 Spending Review made available £16 billion of Public Health Grant funding for local authorities in England over the five years to 2020. Tobacco control is within this remit. The ring-fence around the public health grant remains in place for this financial year and the next, as does the requirement for local authorities to use their grant to reduce inequalities in health.

Lloyds Bank: Closures

Ben Bradley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of Lloyds Bank on its closures of local bank branches.

John Glen: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including Lloyds Bank, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.Decisions on the branch network are a commercial matter for the management team of a firm, and the Government does not intervene in those decisions. However, the impact of closures on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated, where possible.Government supports the industry’s Access to Banking Standard, launched in May 2017, which commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing, along with the options they have locally to continue to access banking services. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board.Government also supports the Post Office’s banking framework agreement which enables 99% of personal and 95% of banks’ small business customers to conduct their everyday banking services at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,500 branches. In March, in response to my request, the Post Office and UK Finance committed to joint work to raise public awareness of these important services so that more consumers can benefit from them.

Financial Services: Misrepresentation

Bill Grant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to compensate people who have sustained losses due to the mis-selling of Integrity Cash Maximiser products.

Bill Grant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available for people who sustained losses as a result of misleading selling of Integrity Cash Maximiser products.

John Glen: The independent financial services regulator - the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – is responsible for the regulations in place to protect customers in their dealings with financial services firms. It requires firms to treat their customers fairly and has broad and robust powers to enforce breaches of its rules. If consumers have a complaint about a regulated financial service, they may be able to take their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS was established to provide for the proportionate, prompt and informal resolution of cases and is designed to be an alternative to resolution of cases through the courts.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) representatives of local authorities and (b) Metro Mayors about the retention of speed camera revenue by those authorities.

Elizabeth Truss: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has had no specific discussions with representatives of local authorities, nor with Metro Mayors, concerning the retention of speed camera revenue.

Child Care Vouchers

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to keep the childcare voucher scheme open after 4 October 2018.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the Honourable member to my statement made on 29 March 2018.www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&member=4097

Unpaid Taxes

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many time to pay arrangements have been agreed between HMRC and (a) businesses and (b) individuals in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: The information requested cannot be provided for (a) businesses and (b) individuals separately. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can confirm the total amount of active time to pay arrangements at the end of each financial year for the last five years. This information is in the table below: 2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18591,182601,310794,224721,069763,614822,406

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Tourism: Ayrshire

Bill Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he next plans to hold meetings with representatives of (a) the Scottish Government, (b) East Ayrshire Council and (c) South Ayrshire Council on promoting tourism in Ayrshire.

Michael Ellis: The Secretary of State for DCMS met with the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs this August to discuss a range of issues, including Scottish tourism. We currently have no plans to meet East Ayrshire Council or South Ayrshire Council. Additionally, DCMS officials meet regularly with officials from the Scottish Government to discuss a range of topics relating to tourism. The Scottish Government are also observers on the Tourism Industry Council.

Football: Females

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support women's football in (a) Kent and (b) England.

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to promote women's football in (a) Kent and (b) England.

Tracey Crouch: The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of focusing on groups that are less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, including women and girls. Sport England, government’s arm’s length body for community sport, funds the Football Association (FA) to encourage participation in the women’s game, both in developing talented women and girls as well as supporting participation at the grassroots. For 2017-2021 Sport England awarded The FA £14.6m. This investment includes funding for programmes like ‘Grow the Game’ aimed at supporting new women’s and disability teams. The FA has partnered with Sport England’s “This Girl Can” campaign, to encourage more women and girls to get involved with the sport across the country. In Kent, Sport England funding has helped Kent FA start the Player Development Centre which has seen many girls receive extra coaching opportunities. Government supports the FA’s bid to host the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 finals in England which will hopefully inspire the next generation of young female players.

Football: World Cup

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has held with (a) representatives of the Football Association and (b) Cabinet colleagues on an (i) English or (ii) British bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

Tracey Crouch: Ministers have regular discussions with the Football Association, and with Cabinet colleagues, on a number of topics. The matter of hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup is a question for the home nations’ football associations to first consider. The Football Association announced on 1st August that they would be carrying out a feasibility study on the merits of such a bid. My officials stand ready to contribute towards any government related aspects of the feasibility study as required.

Women and Equalities

International Men's Day

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department has plans to mark International Men's Day 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: The Government intends to mark International Men’s Day 2018, and the Government Equalities Office is planning a programme of activities accordingly.

Females: Equality

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2018 to Question 160802 on Females: Equality, what progress her Department has made on meeting Sustainable Development Goal 5 by 2030; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: To date, our progress in implementing policy in line with Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals has led to a higher percentage of women on FTSE boards than ever before, ground-breaking regulations to close the gender pay gap, tax-free childcare entitlements, the introduction of shared parental leave, and an increase in flexible working opportunities. We have also developed a proactive violence against women and girls strategy which protects and supports victims and provided support to enable women from Northern Ireland to access abortion services in England.

Females: Members' Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has held discussions with the Leader of the House on tackling the inequality in the number of males and females carrying out parliamentary assistant/researcher roles for Members of Parliament; and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: My Rt Hon Friend has not held any discussions with the Leader of the House on this matter. Where a Parliamentary assistant or researcher is engaged under a contract of employment, apprenticeship or contract personally to do work, the Member of Parliament, as their employer, is subject to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and therefore must not unlawfully discriminate in any aspect of recruitment covered by the Act. The positive action provisions in the Act enable an employer to treat one gender more favourably than the other in connection with recruitment providing certain conditions are met.

Government Equalities Office: Public Appointments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what information her office holds on the socio-economic background of people appointed to senior roles in the Government Equalitiies Office in the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: The Government Equalities Office does not hold information about the socio-economic background of its senior civil servants.